Event-based prospective memory in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Learning and memory seem to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure. Previous research has, however, been limited to the study of retrospective memory (i.e., episodic or declarative memory) in children with a history of prenatal alcohol exposure. Recently, memory researchers have turned their attention to the study of prospective memory (PM), or the ability to realize and act on delayed intentions, in clinical populations. There are no published studies exploring PM in FASD, however. Prospective remembering is reliant on declarative memory as well as intact executive functioning, both of which are known to be impaired in FASD. The current study aimed, therefore, to investigate event-based PM functioning in a longitudinal cohort of children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure. It also aimed to investigate whether the relation between prenatal alcohol exposure and prospective memory was influenced by IQ, executive functioning, or retrospective memory